Bagration fleches

The Bagration fleches were three redans constructed by the Russian general Pyotr Bagration near the town of Semyonovskoye in 1812 in preparation for the impending Battle of Borodino. The earthworks were defended by artillery battery companies and Russian infantry, and the fleches managed to inflict heavy losses on the French Grande Armee; Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout suffered a concussion after being unhorsed. After eight attacks, the French managed to take the fleches, but at a heavy cost; of 60,000 men sent to storm the fleches, half were lost. The battle had the largest recorded casualty rate in history, with half of the combatants being casualties.